Division 
Section 


^-^^   2  1914 


HARTFORD  SEMINIRY  PUBLICATIONS,  NO.  3 

[new  series] 


Ci^e  Eclattonjs  of  jQeto  Cc^tamcnt  ^tnt}^ 
to  ti^c  pvtmit  age 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

OF 

Rev.  ANDREW    C.  ZENOS,   D.D. 

HOSMER   PROFESSOR  OF   NEW  TESTAMENT  EXEGESIS 

January  i6,  1SS9 


HARTFORD   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 
18S9 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT 
STUDY  TO  THE  PRESENT  AGE. 


IN  assuming  the  duties  of  the  chair,  to  which  these  exercises 
officially  inaugurate  me,  I  cannot  overlook  the  peculiar  import- 
ance of  its  history.  During  the  first  fifty-three  years  of  its  life  this 
Seminary  has  had  but  two  Professors  of  New  Testament  Exegesis. 
The  first  of  these,  the  venerable  Dr.  Thompson,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  institution,  is  still  with  us.  I  cannot  tell  how  much  his  pres- 
ence enhances  the  solemnity  of  this  hour  to  me.  It  must  certainly 
remind  us  all  of  the  original  intent  and  purpose  of  those  who  labored 
and  sacrificed  for  the  successful  founding  of  the  Seminary.  I  am 
sure  I  express  the  sentiment  of  us  all  when  I  say,  long  may  he  abide 
with  us,  not  only  to  link  the  present  with  the  past,  but  also  to  take 
part  in  the  work  of  consolidating  and  enlarging  the  usefulness  of  the 
institution.  The  second  teacher  of  New  Testament  Exegesis,  and 
properly  the  first  incumbent  of  the  Hosmer  Professorship,  was  the 
able  teacher  and  eminent  scholar.  Dr.  Matthew  B,  Riddle.  Were  it 
customary  for  incoming  occupants  of  Seminary  professorships  to  speak 
extensively  of  their  predecessors,  as  it  is,  for  example,  for  members  of 
the  National  Academy  of  France  on  taking  their  seats  in  that  august 
body,  we  would  find  enough  to  occupy  us  profitably  this  hour  in  re- 
counting the  public  labors  of  one  whose  work,  through  the  Committee 
of  Revision  and  independently,  cannot  fail  to  form  a  permanent  factor 
in  New  Testament  scholarship  in  this  country. 

But  we  are  here  not  to  magnify  the  chair  of  New  Testament  Exegesis 
in  this  Seminary,  nor  to  speak  of  the  work  of  predecessors.  Nor  on  the 
other  hand  are  we  here  to  take  an  encyclopaedic  view  of  our  depart- 
ment, and  to  trace  out  its  relations  to  the  other  branches  of  the  theo- 
logical curriculum.  We  are  here  rather  to  face  a  duty.  An  inscru- 
table Providence  through  a  series  of  many  steps  has  led  us  to  unite 
our  efforts  in  a  common  work.  We  are  to  ask  and  answer  the 
questions,  what  that  work  is,  and  what  it  demands  of  us.     In  order  to 


be  specific  I  shall  limit  myself  to  the  answer  as  found  in  the  consid- 
eration of  the  subject :  I'he  Relation  of  New  Testament  Study  to  the 
Present  Age.  1  shall  try  to  speak  briefly  of  the  function  and  office 
of  the  New  Testament  interpreter,  of  how  it  is  affected  by  the 
movements  and  conditions  round  about  us,  and  hoV  it  proposes  to  in- 
fluence them  in  return. 

Exegesis  is  a  science  and  an  art ;  and,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation, 
the  term  includes  not  merely  the  actual  interpretation  of  literary  and 
other  productions,  but  also  all  preparatory  steps  looking  towards  such 
interpretation.  We  may  be  allowed  on  this  occasion  to  speak  of  it 
in  a  general  and  comprehensive  way  without  distinguishing  between 
its  parts. 

On  the  assumption  that  the  Bible  is  in  a  true  sense  the  product  of 
a  supernatural  influence  —  the  Word  of  God  —  not  a  mere  body  of 
literature  and,  as  such,  the  product  of  the  human  mind— ^  for  then  it 
would  hardly  be  worth  our  while  to  undertake  its  study,  its  interpreta- 
tion, and  dissemination  on  as  large  a  scale  as  we  are  doing  —  on  this 
assumption  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  striking  resemblance, 
amounting  to  a  perfect  analogy,  between  the  spheres  of  Natural 
Science  and  of  Biblical  Science  ;  the  one  is  occupied  with  the  inves- 
tigation of  Nature  —  the  Work  of  God  —  with  the  design  of  lifting  up 
man  as  a  physical  and  intellectual  being  to  the  fullness  of  his  stature 
—  the  realization  of  his  possibilities  ;  the  other  is  occupied  with  the 
Bible  —  the  Word  of  God  —  aiming  to  elevate  man  as  a  moral  and 
spiritual  being  to  the  ideal  of  his  manhood.  Just  as  Natural  Science 
divides  its  work  into  sections  and  departments,  so  that  by  specializa- 
tion it  may  be  done  thoroughly  and  well,  so  Theology,  though  in 
comparatively  recent  years,  has  divided  its  work  with  the  same  end  in 
view.  In  this  division  of  labor,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  the 
exegete  stands  to  Theology  exactly  as  the  explorer  to  Science  at 
large,  or  the  microscopist  to  Biology,  or  the  workman  in  the  laboratory 
to  Physics  and  Chemistry :  he  is  the  observer,  the  collector  of  facts. 
These  facts  he  ascertains,  describes,  and  hands  over  to  his  fellow- 
workers  in  other  departments  ;  to  the  historian  to  be  classified  and 
arranged  in  their  chronological  and  natural  (genetic)  order  ;  to  the 
systematic  theologian  to  be  grouped  in  logical  systems  ;  to  the  pastor 
and  preacher  to  be  used  in  the  practical  relations  of  life.  His  branch 
is  the  discovery  and  interpretation  of  facts  ;  this  done,  his  distinctive 
task  is  ended.  The  question  now  is,  wiiat  help  can  the  spirit  of  the 
day  give  him  in  such  a  task  ? 


5 

Let  it  be  observed  :  First  —  That  the  age  is  one  of  motion  and 
progress.  The  Hfe  and  activity  of  the  world  in  everything,  and,  for 
our  purpose  we  may  say,  especially  in  science  and  literature,  is,  to  put 
it  mildly,  very  rapid.  Steam  and  electricity,  the  railroad  and  the  tele- 
graph, have  not  only  made  travel  and  communication  easier  and 
quicker,  but  they  have  sent  their  influence  into  the  remoter  spheres 
of  art  and  literature,  and  by  facilitating  the  execution,  the  multiplica- 
tion, and  the  circulation  of  the  products  of  art  and  letters,  they  have 
quickened  activity  in  them.  Thus  in  a  certain  way  obstacles  in  the 
path  of  that  subtle  power,  which  works  more  quickly  than  steam  or 
electricity  —  the  human  mind  —  have  been  removed,  and  freedom  has 
been  given  to  it  to  carry  on  its  work  as  it  never  did  before.  And  so 
progress,  which  took  centuries  for  its  consummation,  is  now  being  ac- 
complished in  years.  Neither  is  intellectual  work,  as  in  the  days  of 
old,  carried  on  in  seclusion.  The  worker  enters  his  study  from  a 
world  busy  with  its  myriad  forms  of  life  ;  these  he  cannot  escape  if  he 
would,  and  somehow  does  not  attempt  to  avoid  ;  but  as  if  fascinated 
by  them,  he  plants  his  study  in  their  very  midst.  Our  largest  institu- 
tions of  learning  are  gravitating  toward  the  centers  of  active  life,  the 
great  cities.  Thus  the  very  blood  as  it  courses  through  the  veins  of 
the  student  carries  the  lingering  influence  of  life  and  action,  and 
prompts  him  to  impatience,  to  increased  energy,  and  economy  of  time. 
And  this  not  only  in  other  forms  of  literary  work,  but  also  in 
what  once  was  thought  to  be  the  furthest  away  from  the  dread  influ- 
ence of  the  world  —  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.  In  fact,  the  influence 
is  no  longer  dreaded.  Why  should  it  be  ?  Why  should  the  student 
of  God's  word  dread  movement  and  life  ?  Far  from  hindering 
and  confusing,  it  has  greatly  helped  him.  Look  at  the  accumulation 
during  this  century  of  materials  for  the  criticism  of  the  text  of  the 
New  Testament ;  it  has  only  served  to  make  the  basis  of  New  Testa- 
ment study  surer  by  furnishing  a  reliable  and  pure  text,  the  most  es- 
sential, the  most  preliminary  of  all  its  parts.  Or  look  at  the  documents 
recently  brought  to  light:  the  "  Teachmg  of  the  Twelve  Disciples," 
the  translations  of  Tatian's  Harmony  into  Armenian  and  Arabic,  the 
original  of  Barnabas'  Epistle,  the  Clementine  Homilies  in  full,  the 
Clementine  Epistles,  and  the  work  of  Hippolytus  "Against  All  Here- 
sies," the  Syriac  recensions  of  the  Ignatian  Epistles  —  all  these  dis- 
covered within  fifty  years,  half  of  them  within  fifteen  3'ears ; 
what  a  stream  of  light  they  have  thrown  on  the  knotty  problems 
connected  with  the  origin,  the  purpose,  and  interpretation  of  the 
New   Testament   writings.      Or    again,  look  at  the   collations  from 


the  writings  of  the  early  interpreters  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
translations  of  these  into  the  modern  languages.  How  much  help 
may  be  derived  from  them  in  carrying  on  the  study  of  the  New 
Testament  !  Their  nearness  in  point  of  time  to  the  date  of  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Gospel,  betokens  an  acquaintance  with  customs  and  spirit, 
and  a  consequent  clearness  of  vision,  that  must  aid  the  student;  and 
even  their  errors  in  method  can  only  show  wherein  the  dangers  of 
the  interpreter  await  him.  Or  again,  look  at  the  archaeological  and 
topographical  explorations  that  have  helped  to  fix  long  debated 
locations  and  illumine  doubtful  passages.  All  these  acquisitions 
have  led  far  toward  the  center  of  vision,  in  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures.  Sometimes  this  progress  is  said  to  be  the  residue  of  con- 
flict with  unbelieving  criticism.  Without  denying  that  such  conflict 
has  forced  much  helpful  thought  and  activit)',  we  may  n'lore  truly  say 
that  both  believing  and  unbelieving  workers  have  been  actuated  meas- 
urably by  the  aggressive,  progressive,  enterprising  restlessness  of  the 
times. 

Some  have  looked  at  these  and  similar  movements  with  timid  eyes. 
]\Iovement,  they  have  said,  is  not  always  progress,  nor  is  the  novel 
and  startling  always  the  true.  Others  have  launched  into  them 
boldly,  perhaps  recklessly,  and  pressing  into  unknown  seas  they  have 
made  shipwreck  of  their  faith.  Two  sections  of  the  world  look  upon 
everything  new  in  two  different  ways  exactly  opposed  to  one  another, 
both  wrong  in  their  extreme  forms,  and  both  right  as  tempered  and 
modified  by  one  another,  and  at  the  point  where  they  meet  and  blend. 
The  first,  restless,  impatient  with  settled  forms,  takes  novelty  as  a 
recommendation  and  a  badge  of  truth.  A  priori,  what  has  just  ap- 
peared is  the  fruition  of  long  processes,  and  therefore  right  until 
proved  to  be  wrong ;  refusal  to  worship  it  is  effete,  antiquated,  mori- 
bund, obsolescent.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  those  who,  satisfied 
too  easily  with  what  they  hold,  see  not  the  necessity  for  change  ; 
they  look  upon  progress  with  suspicion.  They  say,  "  let  well  enough 
alone."  In  view  of  these  contradictory  tendencies,  it  behooves  the  sci- 
entific investigator  to  watch  lest  he  clog  the  way  to  true  progress,  on 
the  one  hand,  by  a  fanatical  adherence  to  the  old,  after  it  has  been 
proved  wrong ;  or  lead  and  be  led  to  ruin,  as  a  scholar  and  as  a  human 
being,  by  readily  falling  in  with  every  new  theory,  or  even  by  giving  it 
the  presumptive  right  against  the  old.  But  the  special  danger  of  our 
age  is  from  the  tendency  to  accept  the  novel  too  rashly.  Are  not 
all  things  making  rapid  progress  .^  Why  should  we  not  keep  pace 
with   other  departments  of  science  ?     Questions  such   as  tiiese,  un- 


consciously  or  consciously  entertained,  lead  many  to  an  unreasoning 
radicalism.  In  our  field  especially,  this  tendency  leads  to  the  reversal 
of  the  natural  order  of  things,  to  the  demand  that  the  old  and  exist- 
mg  order  of  truth  shall  show  its  consistency  with  the  new  or  yield, 
instead  of  asking  for  due  credendals  from  the  new.  Let  us  insist  on  it 
that  that  which  has  been  accepted  for  a  long  while  and  proved  a 
source  of  comfort  and  a  means  of  guidance,  has  some  foundation  of 
truth  hidden  away  from  us,  perhaps,  by  the  lapse  of  time,  but  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  have  enabled  it  to  stand ;  that  it  cannot  be  rejected 
without  danger  to  the  cause  of  truth,  except  on  sufficient  evidence 
and  after  mature  and  thorough  discussion.  No  new  discovery  is  en- 
titled to  a  supreme  place  in  our  systems  until  it  has  proved  its  right 
thereto  by  a  complete  and  universal  confutation  of  all  that  may  be 
inconsistent  or  opposed  to  it  in  the  already  existing  system ;  until 
it  has  exchanged  friendly  words  of  greeting  with  its  predecessors,  or, 
if  need  be,  crossed  swords  and  overcome.  We  speak  of  Galileo  as  of 
a  great  man  and  a  martyr  to  science,  and  we  do  well ;  but  when  we 
become  inordinate  in  our  denunciations  of  those  who  stood  in  his  way, 
and  condemn  them  without  having  a  clear  conception  of  their  fault ; 
when  we  expect  them  to  have  received  the  truth,  as  truth  simply,  be- 
cause Galileo  announced  it  as  a  novel  and  startling  discovery,  in  spite 
of  its  apparent  or  real  inconsistency  with  the  body  of  their  former 
knowledge,  we  commit  a  grave  offense  against  the  rights  of  existing 
truth. 

True  progress  must  from  the  nature  of  the  case  be  the  result  of 
slow  processes.  The  most  violent  revolutions  in  politics  not  only, 
but  in  science  and  art,  are  the  outbursts  not  of  sudden  thoughts  and 
feelings,  but  of  long  and,  slow  growths.  They  are  not  the  happy 
thoughts  of  individuals  so  much  as  the  distinct  and  articulate  utter- 
ance of  that  which  has  been  in  process  of  preparation  in  the  minds  of 
men  through  long  ages. 

These  general  principles  acquire  special  significance  when  we  come 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  New  Testament  writings.  Here,  if  any- 
where, the  facts  and  principles  which  should  revolutionize  the  ex- 
isting state  of  affairs  must  be  the  work  not  of  one  individual  nor 
the  outcome  of  a  single  mental  act,  but  the  residue  of  a  long,  slow, 
and  painful  process.  For  this  is  not  a  sphere  which  has  come  to 
the  attention  of  this  age,  like  some  of  the  natural  sciences,  within  the 
memory  of  living  men,  in  which  every  step  forward  must  be  largely 
tentative.  It  is  rather  a  sphere  in  which  men  have  labored  for  long 
and  weary  centuries  ;  we  are  in  duty  bound  to  examine  the  manner  and 


result  of  their  labors,  to  test  the  principles  on  which  it  was  carried  on, 
to  traverse  the  route  trodden  by  them  and  determine  its  bearings. 
To  ignore  this  work,  to  underestimate  the  acumen  and  honesty  of 
past  students,  and  with  a  masterly  stroke  of  the  pen  to  consign  the  re- 
sult to  oblivion,  is  a  sign  of  arrogance,  not  of  scholarship.  True 
scholarship  will  heed  both  parts  of  the  injunction,  which  is  as  rational 
as  it  is  scriptural,  to  'Trove  all  things,  hold  fast  that  which  is  good." 
Hold  fast  that  which  has  proved  itself  good  until  something  better 
offers.  Never  give  up,  except  on  irrefragable  proof,  what  has  been 
satisfactory  to  the  workers  of  the  past,  who  toiled  and  sacrificed  more 
heroically  than  any  modern  scholars  know  how  to  do  or  have  any  op- 
portunity of  doing.  If  this  is  traditionalism,  then  we  may  cheerfully 
accept  the  name,  and  confidently  claim  that  such  traditionalism  is 
not  only  consistent  with  progress,  but  that  it  is  the  true  progressive 
spirit,  as  opposed  to  the  hasty  acceptance  of  crude  and  undigested 
views  under  the  influence  of  the  mere  desire  to  advance. 

We  may  now  go  a  step  further  and  say  that  special  caution  is 
necessary  in  dealing  with  the  Scriptures.  For  although  as  a  literary 
and  historical  product  theoretically  they  are  to  be  treated  exactly  as 
other  writings,  we  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  they  are  in  practice 
never  so  treated.  The  existence  of  the  miraculous  in  their  accounts 
makes  naturalistic  critics  and  interpreters  infinitely  more  careful,  yes, 
exacting  in  their  demands  for  evidences  of  authenticity.  What  would 
be  perfectly  satisfactory  evidence  in  establishing  the  authorship  of 
Horace  or  Plato  is  set  aside  as  absolutely  inadequate  when  a  work 
claims  to  be  St.  Paul's  or  St.  John's.  But  if  the  content  thus  preju- 
dice the  case  on  one  side,  why  should  not  the  effects  produced  by 
these  writings  in  the  world,  with  their  undoubted  beneficent  influence, 
prejudice  it  in  another  way.  Just  as  exorbitant  demands  for  cre- 
dentials are  made  and  met,  why  should  not  the  claim  be  heeded  that 
they  be  not  experimented  with  or  hastily  treated  ?  They  have  been 
held  in  such  estimation  as  to  make  it  perilous  to  the  faith  of  many  to 
disturb  existing  opinions  about  them.  It  is  of  course  the  duty  of  the 
scholar  to  face  this  danger  when  he  is  sure  of  his  ground,  but  it  is 
not  always  certain  that  change  will  lead  to  improvement ;  and  so  it  be- 
hooves him  to  wait  until  his  results  are  something  more  than  guesses 
before  insisting  on  their  acceptance.  If,  as  is  said,  "  fools  rush  in 
where  angels  fear  to  tread,"  it  becomes  the  wise  scholar  not  to 
enact  the  part  of  the  .  fool.  And  we  can  urge  this  the  more 
earnestly :  — 


II.  Because  the  age  we  live  in  furnishes  the  safeguard  through  its  own 
scientific  method.  The  development  of  the  natural  sciences,  largely 
within  this  century,  and  the  attainment  of  reliable  results  in  them 
through  inductive  processes  of  research,  have  impressed  investigators 
in  every  field  of  labor  with  the  validity  and  value  of  these  methods 
not  only,  but  also  with  the  feasibility  and  wisdom  of  adopting  them  in 
other  spheres  ;  hence  history  has  been  and  is  being  rewritten  within  our 
days  on  this  new  basis  ;  hence  also  such  a  branch  of  study  as  psychol- 
ogy is  being  submitted  to  the  process  of  reconstruction  with  the  sci- 
entific method  as  the  means  of  rebuilding.  It  is  not  therefore  strange 
that  the  circle  of  the  theological  sciences  should  be  called  upon  to  ex- 
amine their  stock  of  acquisition  from  the  past ;  to  modify,  if  necessary, 
the  results  attained  and  bring  them  within  the  range  of  scientific 
expression ;  to  change  at  any  rate  the  process  of  work  so  as  to 
secure  the  same  clearness,  order,  and  scientific  reliability  which  other 
branches  of  study  have  obtained.  Only  a  stubborn,  and  not  the 
truth-loving  conservatism,  will  fail  to  heed  this  voice  and  adopt  its 
suggestion.  The  features  of  the  scientific  method  commend  it  to  the 
seeker  of  truth,  and  are  these,  viz.: 

I.  Absence  of  a  priori  bias  in  approaching  the  subject  to  be  inves- 
tigated. Bias  here  does  not  of  course  mean  interest.  Interest, 
even  love  amounting  to  enthusiasm,  is  helpful ;  it  is  certainly  better 
than  a  cold  and  apathetic  disposition  in  the  student.  Nor  does  ab- 
sence of  bias  exclude  working  hypotheses,  as  purely  tentative  and 
provisional  affairs,  to  be  corrected  or  rejected,  as  the  facts  may  de- 
mand during  the  course  of  investigation.  Nor  again,  can  the  term 
bias  include  the  same  elements  throughout  an  investigation,  or  mean 
the  same  thing  under  all  circumstances.  At  different  stages  in  the 
progress  of  research  it  must  mean  more  or  less.  For  certain  stages 
of  investigation  all  that  has  been  discovered  and  established  on  a 
sound  basis  must  be  a  stepping  stone  for  further  progress  ;  it  would  be 
worse  than  folly  not  to  keep  it  in  mind,  as  a  sort  of  prejudice  in 
prosecuting  the  work.  For  the  astronomers  of  the  Lick  observatory 
it  would  be  raving  madness  not  to  approach  their  task  with  the  posi- 
tive assurance  that  the  Copernican  theory  of  the  solar  system  is  true, 
or  that  the  formulae  of  Newton  and  Kepler  on  the  law  of  gravitation 
are  proved.  So  in  investigating  the  question  whether  the  Bible  is  or 
is  not  the  Word  of  God  —  a  question  which  in  the  ordinarily  accepted 
sense  belongs,  if  at  all,  to  the  earliest  stage  of  exegesis  —  this  freedom 
from  bias  would  require  the  investigator  to  come  with  his  mind  en- 
tirely divested  of  prejudice  in  favor  of  the  actual  occurrence  of  mir- 


lO 

acles  in  the  world,  of  which  God's  giving  His  Word  would  be  one,  or 
against  their  possibility ;  it  would  call  on  him  to  set  aside  for  the 
time  his  philosophical  notions,  to  survey  the  whole  field,  to  take 
account  of  all  the  facts,  giving  each  its  due  weight,  and  then  to 
build  his  theory  on  the  facts  thus  found ;  not  to  assume  that  there 
have  been  supernatural  occurrences,  and  proceed  to  seek  evidence 
for  the  assumption  ;  nor,  as  skeptics  are  doing,  start  with  the  postulate 
that  miracles  are  impossible,  their  acceptance  unscientific  and  uncrit- 
ical, and  proceed  to  the  facts,  of  course  not  to  interpret,  but  sim- 
ply to  explain  them  away.  It  will  not  avail  to  say  that  this  prejudice 
is  scientific  because  based  on  natural  science.  For  this  claim,  aside 
from  the  fact  that  it  uses  the  term  scientific  in  a  narrow  and  confus- 
ing sense,  is  not  true.  Natural  science  has  simply  nothing  to  say  on 
the  subject  of  the  supernatural ;  and  to  this  position,  always  held  by 
believing  scientists,  the  better  class  of  non-Christians,  have  seen 
themselves  compelled  to  come.  The  possibility  of  the  supernatural 
though  extra-scientific  (using  the  word  scientific  in  the  narrow  sense), 
is  not  unscientific  (again  in  the  narrow  sense) ;  rather  in  the  highest 
and  broadest  sense,  it  is  scientific  to  admit  the  possibility  of  miracles, 
and  unscientific  to  deny  it.  Now,  when  we  have  found  by  such 
an  introductory  investigation  that  the  New  Testament  writings  are 
what  they  claim  to  be,  it  becomes  not  only  a  dereliction  of  duty  to 
discard  the  fact,  but  an  altogether  unscientific  procedure.  It 
must  enter  into  our  apparatus.  It  must  have  at  least  a  twofold  ef- 
fect on  us  :  first,  it  must  compel  us,  as  we  go  further  in  our  work,  to 
seek  for  guidance  from  the  Author  of  the  Word  ;  to  approach  it  with  a 
humble,  prayerful  spirit.  Anything  else  would  amount  to  cutting  our- 
selves off  from  the  only  safe  leadership  in  our  exploration.  Difficult 
as  this  is,  and  important  as  are  the  issues  at  stake,  we  cannot  afford 
to  neglect  the  assistance  coming  from  a  right  attitude  of  mind  and 
heart,  in  dealing  with  God's  Word.  Secondly,  the  conviction  that  the 
literary  products  before  us  are  due  principally  to  divine  inspiration, 
must  compel  us  to  take  the  thought  of  inspiration  into  the  subsequent 
stages  of  our  research.  The  question  we  have  to  answer  at  every  step 
and  in  view  of  every  new  fact  is :  "  What  is  the  exact  and  full  meaning 
of  this  fact  ?  "  and  it  can  only  be  answered  properly  by  taking  into 
account  all  the  factors  that  have  produced  it.  If  divine  influence  is 
one  of  these,  any  answer  made  independently  of  the  divine  element 
must  be  defective.  Hence  it  is  easy  enough  to  understand  how,  when 
an  interpreter  has  been  convinced  that  the  New  Testament  is  the  work 
of  men  only,  as  such,  he  must  explain  its  statements  exactly  as  he 


II 

would  any  other  literature ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  in- 
consistency of  a  Christian  scholar,  whose  mind  is  made  up  that  he  is 
dealing  with  the  Word  of  God,  and  who  yet  persists  in  leaving  out  the 
fact  of  inspiration  from  his  exegesis.  The  scientist  who  believes  in 
evolution,  never  leaves  it  out  of  his  accounts  of  geology  or  biology. 

To  sam  up  :  during  the  earliest  stage  of  our  work,  scientific  free- 
dom from  prejudice  means  everything ;  later,  it  means  less  and  less, 
until  in  pure  Exegesis  it  consists  in  putting  aside  preconception  as 
to  what  the  Word  of  God  is  or  contains,  and  readiness  to  find  in  it 
just  what  has  been  put  in  it  by  its  Author.  If  a  priori  theories  held 
before  are  found  there,  as  very  probably  some  of  them  may  be,  well 
and  good,  but  if  not,  i/iey  are  to  be  corrected  or  surrendered,  not  the 
Word  of  God.  This  is  honesty,  scientific  honesty,  in  which  those 
who  have  adopted  the  so-called  "  Christian  consciousness  "  theory  can- 
not indulge  very  largely.  It  would  disturb  the  results  they  have  ob- 
tained through  the  application  of  their  pet  method. 

2.  After  the  mind  has  been  prepared  for  its  task  it  will  meet  a 
second  requirement  in  the  use  of  the  modern  method,  /.  e.,  exact- 
ness in  the  observation  of  facts.  This  will  include  a  minute  ex- 
amination of  materials  in  detail,  and  a  comprehensive  and  exhaustive 
grasp  of  all  the  material  available.  In  the  first  of  these  particulars  our 
lesson  is  learned  from  the  microscope  as  used  in  the  natural  sciences. 
We  have  come  to  know  that  centers  of  vitality  are  imperceptible  to 
the  naked  eye ;  whole  cycles  of  facts  that  had  escaped  the  observ- 
ation of  men  before  the  use  of  the  microscope  were  important  to  the 
utmost  in  their  bearings ;  as  they  are  taken  into  consideration  now, 
they  bid  fair  to  revolutionize  every  department  of  natural  science ; 
they  have  done  so  with  every  branch  of  biology.  History  has  felt  the 
strength  of  this  principle  and  sent  its  students  deeper  and  closer  into 
the  life  of  events,  and  restated  in  truer  terms  its  record  of  the  world's 
life.  A  single  neglected  document  brought  to  light  has  often  proved 
more  valuable  in  revealing  the  true  and  inner  life  of  great  movements 
than  whole  libraries  on  the  external  aspects  of  the  same  movements. 
Witness  that  outline,  written  in  a  sort  of  shorthand,  of  a  sermon 
preached  here  in  Hartford  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  and  deci- 
phered by  an  eminent  citizen  of  Hartford,  Dr.  J.  Hammond  Trumbull ; 
in  its  scanty  sentences  it  furnishes  the  key  to  the  origin  of  the  form  of 
government  under  which  we  are  living ;  it  gives  the  true  motives  of  those 
who  founded  it,  and  proves  that  with  them  began  "  the  government  of 
the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people."  And  if  minute  and  accu- 
rate research  is  thus  significant  in  science  and  in  history,  how  much 


12 

more  so  must  it  be  in  Biblical  criticism  and  interpretation,  where  the 
facts  to  be  examined  are  facts  of  language  and  thought,  subject  to  a 
complicated  and  elaborate  system  of  subtle  laws,  significant  in  their 
slightest  variations.  We  cannot  be  too  thorough  in  our  analysis  here,  or 
too  trenchant  in  our  penetration.  We  cannot  break  up  the  elements  we 
are  investigating  into  too  small  sections  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying 
this  true  and  just  claim  of  the  scientific  method.  And,  as  if  to  indicate 
the  will  of  Providence  in  the  matter,  the  wonderful  development  of 
philological  science  in  our  days  has  opened  more  widely  the  door  to 
thoroughness.  We  have  now  the  assistance  of  a  true  science  of  phi- 
lology, where  not  more  than  a  century  ago  scholars  were  satisfied 
with  conjecture.  This  is  certainly  as  much  of  an  indication  lo  the 
Christian  scholar  of  his  duty  as  the  removal  of  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  missionary  work,  or  the  occurrence  of  great  crises  is  an  indication 
to  the  Church  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  vigorous  work  in  evangelizing 
the  world.  And  to  emphasize  the  need  of  care  and  discrimination, 
let  it  be  further  observed  that  not  every  microscopic  particle  of  bio- 
plasm is  a  center  of  vitality,  nor  is  every  old  and  obscure  scrap  that 
may  come  to  light  the  key  to  the  intricacies  of  a  great  historical 
movement,  nor  every  grammatical  form  or  combination  of  words 
the  expression  of  cardinal  thought.  J^Jor  must  we  draw  back  because 
others  in  the  infancy  of  our  science,  attempting  to  be  minute  and  sys- 
tematic, went  astray  into  unwarranted  allegorisms  and  fantastic  de- 
lusions. Error  there  has  certainly  been  in  the  past,  and  crudity ;  but 
instead  of  keeping  us  away,  they  should  simply  call  forth  vigorous 
effort  to  substitute  that  which  is  better  and  sounder. 

Furthermore,  the  survey  of  the  field  must  also  be  exhaustive.  There 
is  nothing  more  pernicious  than  the  tendency  to  build  large  theories 
on  a  slender  and  one-sided  collection  of  facts.  How  often  this  ten- 
dency has  resulted  in  misleading  vagaries  and  delayed  true  progress. 
How  often  systems  have  been  built  only  to  be  pulled  down,  after  a 
long  and  wasteful  war  as  to  their  merits  ;  and  this  simply  because 
the  builders  had  failed  or  refused  to  take  into  account  large  cycles 
of  facts  directly  bearing  on  their  theories.  Why  need  we  review  the 
history  of  criticism,  both  lower  and  higher,  to  be  convinced  of  this  ? 
One  illustration  will  suffice.  The  higher  criticism  has  built  theory  after 
theory  of  the  origin  and  authorship  of  the  earlier  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  only  to  have  them  pulled  down  with  the  very  implements 
with  which  they  had  been  constructed.  The  controversy  is  fierce  and 
bitter  even  now  over  the  last  and  most  astounding  of  these  theories ; 
and  when  that  is  razed  to  the  ground,  as  it  must  in  its  essential  points 


13 

sooner  or  later,  another  and  a  more  astounding  will  probably  take  its 
place.  But  meanwhile,  how  confidently  we  are  told  that  this  structure 
is  now  built  on  rock;  that  the  scaffolding  is  already  in  process  of  taking 
down,  and  that  the  palace  stands  magnificent,  aerial  and  perfect,  the 
joy  of  the  whole  world  (of  higher  critics,  no  doubt).  It  is  a  singular 
fact,  however,  and  ominous  as  well  as  singular,  that  the  very  theorists 
who  so  confidently  assert  the  triumph  and  permanency  of  these  re- 
sults complain  constantly  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  Old  Testament 
text,  and  propose  to  correct  it  by  comparison  with  that  of  its  ancient 
translations  and  by  conjecture.  But  if  the  text  be  confused  and  cor- 
rupted, how  can  any  far-reaching  inferences  be  evolved  from  it  ?  If  it 
be  true  that  the  very  data  are  uncertain,  what  becomes  of  the  theo- 
ries ?  The  unsophisticated  mind  will  suspect  from  this  complaint 
that  the  data  are  not  exactly  what  the  theorist  would  like  to  have 
them. 

3.  Closely  connected  with  and  growing  out  of  this  feature  of  the 
scientific  method,  notice  its  third  element,  the  correct  interpreta- 
tion of  the  facts  it  finds.  Correct  interpretation  again  is  secured 
partly  by  a  sound  judgment  and  partly  by  the  application  of  ac- 
cepted tests.  Of  the  necessity  of  sound  judgment  there  never  has 
been  and  can  hardly  be  a  doubt.  The  special  point  at  which 
the  modern  method  helps  men  in  reaching  reliable  interpreta- 
tions is  the  application  of  standard  tests.  As  illustrating  this,  it 
would  be  interesting  to  rehearse  the  accounts  of  Prof.  Tyndall's  exper- 
iments with  abiogenesis  as  given  by  himself.  How  patiently  he 
watched  over  and  repeated  again  and  again  the  same  experiments  — 
dozens  of  times,  some  of  them  —  taking  more  and  more  stringent 
measures  each  time  to  guard  against  all  possible  error,  and  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  they  all  pointed  constantly  to  one  conclusion, 
distrusting  the  result  until  all  possible  avenues  of  mistake  had  been 
shut  off  and  the  inference  seemed  unavoidable.  Truth  to  the 
scientist  is  a  mighty  and  revered  name,  and  nothing  may  be  dogmat- 
ically uttered  in  it,  until  it  has  been  over  and  over  again  measured 
and  sounded  and  weighed  in  the  balance  and  not  found  wanting. 

III.  But  we  must  pass  to  a  third  feature  of  our  age  as  it  affects  our 
science  —  its  practical  character.  With  all  its  dangers  when  exag- 
gerated, the  influence  of  it,  if  duly  regulated,  is  bound  to  be  whole- 
some. It  is  bound  to  result  in  the  pruning  off  of  many  vain  specu- 
lations, castellated  structures,  and  unnecessary  hypotheses,  some  of 


H 

them  imported  from  across  the  ocean,  where,  perhaps,  not  as  much 
regard  is  had  for  practicaUty  as  on  these  shores.  If  the  interpreter 
of  the  Bible  heeds  this  voice,  he  will  first  of  all  take  the  spirit  of 
practicality  into  the  sphere  of  investigation,  which  means  that  he  will 
not  keep  his  common  sense  out  of  his  study.  As  ministers,  we  call 
upon  men  to  take  their  religion  into  the  affairs  of  life  ;  let  us  not  as 
students  neglect  to  take  the  practical  common  sense  of  life  into  the 
study.  Criticism  etymologically  is,  after  all,  the  exercise  of  sound 
judgment,  and  as  a  faculty  it  is  the  result  and  constant  attendant  of 
practical  tact.  Ordinary  common  sense  is  its  substratum  and  neces- 
sary prerequisite.  Every  good  critic  may  not  be  actually  a  good 
business  man  or  a  successful  statesman,  but  he  would  have  made  one 
if  he  had  devoted  himself  to  politics  or  commercial  pursuits.  The 
critical  faculty  necessary  for  the  scholar  is  nothing  but  the  business 
tact  of  the  merchant  developed  in  a  different  line,  trained  to  see  and 
pass  upon  another  set  of  facts  than  those  of  business  life.  But  it 
should  not  on  this  account  be  blinded  to  their  practical  bearings. 
Then,  if  the  scholar  heeds  this  call  for  practicality,  he  will  have  re- 
gard and  cater  to  the  actual  need  and  capacity  of  the  world.  He 
will  not  allow  himself  to  be  so  engrossed  with  the  dignity  and  value 
of  true  scholarship  as  to  lend  a  deaf  ear  to  the  demand  for  popular 
and  easy  interpretations  of  the  Word  of  God.  The  hunger  for  the 
truth  is  great,  and  unless  sound  exegesis  practicalizes  and  popular- 
izes its  results,  this  hunger  will  be  met  by  cheap  substitutes,  which 
cannot  but  do  harm.  Let  us  not  decry  the  popular  Sunday-school 
lesson-leaf  and  cheap  commentary  until  we  have  infused  the  spirit  of 
practicality  into  our  interpretations  and  brought  these  down  to  the 
needs  of  the  people.  But  I  leave  this  part  of  the  subject  with  the 
full  assurance  that  whatever  I  may  say  on  it  is  but  the  feeble  echo  of 
the  thoughts  of  this  audience. 


These  are  in  brief  some  of  the  salutary  influences  exercised  by 
modern  thought  and  life  on  Bible  exegesis.  In  submitting  to  these, 
our  science  incurs  a  debt.  How  shall  it  repay  it.!*  How  shall  it,  as 
thus  vitalized  and  quickened  by  contact  with  the  forces  of  tlie  day, 
bear  fruit  to  feed  the  age  ?  Out  of  the  number  of  spheres  which  it 
must  touch  and  help,  we  select  three  as  pre-eminently  needy  of  its 
influence  —  more  so  than  others  —  more  so  than  ever  —  these  are 
Polemics,  or  controversial  theology,  Apologetics  and  the  practical 
work. 


15 

I.  And  first  of  Polemics.  Nothing  is  better  known  than  the  fact 
that  in  the  attempt  to  systematize  and  formulate  the  doctrines  of  the 
Bible  there  have  arisen,  from  time  to  time,  differences  of  opinion,  and 
that  these  differences  have,  in  the  providence  of  God,  led  to  fierce 
conflicts,  proverbial  for  their  well-nigh  savagery.  It  is  equally  well 
known  that  th>ese  controversies  have  not  always  raged  over  the  same 
parts  of  the  system  of  biblical  truth ;  that  every  age  has  seen  the  bat- 
tlefields shifted.  No  sooner  did  the  Gospel  fairly  take  root,  than  ques- 
tions as  to  its  relations  to  the  old  law  began  to  agitate  the  world ; 
these  relations  adjusted,  there  arose  long  and  animated  debates  on 
the  divinity  of  the  Lord,  on  the  personahty  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
nature  of  sin,  the  atonement,  the  Divine  sovereignty,  and  the  free 
will  of  man.  It  seems  as  if  it  were  a  law  of  Providence  that  progress 
should  be  the  product  of  strife.  As  in  a  living  organism  the  centers 
of  life  change  constantly,  so  in  .theology  the  crossing  of  swords  takes 
place  on  different  battlefields.  The  change  is  occasioned  by  the  ac- 
cession of  new  material  to  the  sum  of  the  world's  knowledge.  Each 
accession  calls  for  a  re-adjustment  of  the  relations  of  the  old  to  the 
new,  and  of  the  parts  of  the  old  to  each  other.  Hence  each  genera- 
tion has  its  individual  disputes.  To  fight  in  the  lines  of  a  hundred 
years  ago  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  Quixotic.  The  questions 
which  were  mooted  during  the  early  decades  of  the  present  century, 
on  dogmatics,  liturgies,  and  church  government  are  no  longer  the  sub- 
jects of  such  animated  discussion  as  they  aroused  then ;  without  los- 
ing their  interest  to  the  historian,  they  have  been  stripped  of  their 
pivotal,  radical  aspect  to  the  controversialist.  Others  have  sprung  up 
to  take  their  place  and  for  a  time  to  monopolize  the  attention  of 
.hinkers.  The  scene  of  activity  has  shifted.  Parties  have  been 
.argely  recast.  Even  such  discussions  as  made  all  New  England  alive 
with  interest  between  Hopkinsians  and  their  opponents,  Tylerists  and 
Taylorists,  Bushnellists  and  anti-Bushnellists,  are  largely  matters  of 
the  past.  They  have  left  their  imprint  on  the  thoughts  of  the  present. 
No  doubt  they  live  in  literature  and  in  the  memory  of  many  veterans, 
who  witnessed  them  and  took  part  in  them  ;  the  smoke  and  dust  still 
linger  on  the  field,  but  the  warriors  have  either  departed  or  turned 
their  attention  to  other  affairs ;  and  the  issues  for  which  they  fought, 
if  not  finally  decided,  rest  for  a  season  until  a  new  impulse  stirs  men 
to  take  them  up  again.  The  questions  of  our  day  are  diff'erent ;  to 
our  minds  quite  as  important ;  indeed,  much  more  so.  It  behooves, 
therefore,  the  polemic  theology  of  our  day  to  seek  new  ammunition 
from  a  sound  exegesis.     It  is  of  small  consequence  whether  the  re- 


i6 

suit  be  change  in  the  forms  and  formula  already  attained.  Whether 
it  amounts  to  sufficient  gain  to  warrant  the  revision  of  creeds  or  not, 
whatever  results  from  controversy  carried  on  upon  the  basis  of  a 
sound  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  whether  depth  or  breadth  or 
strength  or  clearness  must  be  looked  upon  as  an  undoubted  gain. 
There  are  creed-making  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  world  as  there 
are  liturgy-making  epochs.  Not  every  age  furnishes  the  taste  and 
sensibility  that  will  put  the  net  result  of  progress  into  forms  of  worship 
and  thus  furnish  the  most  acceptable  and  uplifting  liturgical  expres- 
sions ;  nor  does  every  age  produce  a  mind  or  minds  capable  of  ex- 
pressing through  the  clearest  and  truest  words  the  crystallized  result  of 
past  investigation  and  controversy  in  acceptable  creeds.  Nevertheless, 
the  effort  to  improve  liturgy  and  creed  goes  on.  Like  the  life  of  the 
plant  it  moves  continually,  though  only  at  stated  intervals  it  may  be 
possible  to  mark  the  amount  of  growth.  Let  controversy  go  on  then, 
but  let  every  shot  fired  in  the  warfare  be  loaded  from  the  great  arsenal 
of  sound  scriptural  interpretation.  If  the  Scriptures  are  what  they 
claim  to  be,  no  other  storehouse  of  ammunition  and  weapons  is  to  be 
found  anywhere,  and  the  weapons  drawn  from  the  Scriptures  may 
be  used  without  fear  ;  they  are  safe  for  attack  or  defence. 

n.  But  a  louder  cry  for  ammunition  in  our  day  comes  from  another 
battlefield  ;  a  battlefield,  the  din  and  clamor  of  whose  warfare  bids 
fair  to  drown  for  a  time  that  of  pure  controversy ;  it  is  the  warfare  be- 
tween Christian  belief  and  modern  unbelief.  The  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  validity  of  that  authority,  are  the  points  at  issue. 
And  both  sides  in  this  contest,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  appeal  to  the 
facts,  as  revealed  by  a  thorough  examination  of  the  Scriptures  them- 
selves. What  do  the  Scriptures  claim  to  be  ?  Is  their  claim  well 
founded  ?  These  questions  cannot  be  answered  satisfactorily  without 
a  careful,  fearless,  and  searching  investigation.  The  Bible  has  been 
long  accepted  as  a  unique  production ;  how  is  this  claim  borne  out  by 
a  comparison  of  its  contents  with  those  of  other  human  literary  pro- 
ductions ?  Here  we  have  the  task,  which  the  higher  criticism  pro- 
poses to  itself;  and  together  with  it  the  nicer  task  of  defining  inspira- 
tion. And  this  task  the  modern  apologetic  has  to  undertake  and 
carry  on  with  the  light,  which  a  sound  exegesis  may  throw  on  its  work. 
There  was  a  time  when  petty  objections  were  made  to  the  Christian 
Scriptures  on  the  ground  of  apparent  inconsistencies  and  inaccuracies 
to  be  found  in  theory.  These  furnished  a  great  part  of  the  apolo- 
gist's line  of    attack.     Now,  not  to  mention   the  fact   that  answers 


17 

made  to  rude  objections  formulated  fifty  or  even  fifteen  years  ago 
are  not  as  satisfactory  as  answers  that  can  be  made  to-day  in  the 
Hght  of  a  fuller  discijssion  and  larger  archaeological  research, — 
now,  the  point  assailed  is  the  foundation  itself.  About  it  the  con- 
flict has  been  raging ;  and  it  has  been  going  on  now  long  enough  to 
show  the  usefulness  of  continuing  it  to  the  bitter  end.  Certainly 
the  believing  side  has  not  been  the  loser  through  it.  Claim  after 
claim  made  by  the  opponent  has  been  shown  to  be  hollow  by  re- 
search and  reasoning,  and  the  battle  has  narrowed  down  to  a  lim- 
ited field.  It  may  be  too  sanguine  to  say  that  more  such  work  as  has 
been  done  within  the  last  fifty  years  would  compel  the  enemy  to  sur- 
render completely ;  but  it  i^  certainly  true  that  skeptical  criticism  has 
vastly  moderated  its  claims,  so  much  so,  that  little  now  is  lacking  for 
a  complete  demonstration  that  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  at  least 
from  the  historico-critical  standpoint,  are  impregnable. 

No  doubt  it  is  customary  in  our  day,  in  certain  quarters,  to  speak 
slightingly  of  the  historic  argument,  as  if  the  apologetic  of  the  day 
must  be  based  not  on  it,  but  on  the  internal  argument,  the  intrinsic 
worth  and  appeal  of  the  Gospel  to  the  human  heart.  So  far  as 
this  fashionable  tendency  has  a  positive  element  it  may  be  readily 
assented  to.  If  it  means  that  emphasis  must  be  laid  as  never  before 
on  the  internal  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  the  human  need,  it  ex- 
presses a  profound  truth.  The  force  with  which  the  Gospel  comes  to 
men  grows  as  the  experience  of  the  world  with  it  becomes  larger  and 
fuller.  Its  inner  meaning  is  better  known  than  ever  it  was,  and  nat- 
urally it  speaks  to  the  heart  more  convincingly.  But  if  on  the  other 
hand  this  tendency  means  that  the  argument  from  miracle  and  proph- 
ecy must  be  abandoned,  there  never  was  a  more  groundless  demand 
than  it  makes.  The  historic  argument  is  as  true  and  valid  and 
strong  as  ever,  and  stronger  by  as  much  as  historic  certainty  is  en- 
hanced through  progress  in  historic  method.  But  if  the  apologist, 
in  compliance  with  the  demand  to  insist  on  the  intrinsic  side  of 
his  subject,  shall  attempt  to  strengthen  his  position  on  that  side, 
what  more  potent  ally  will  he  find  than  the  exegesis  which  will 
furnish  him  with  a  profounder  and  a  more  exhaustive  understand- 
ing of  the  Gospel  ?  Witness  as  a  result  pertaining  to  this  point, 
the  triumphs  of  the  Christological  idea  in  our  days.  Christ's  life 
was  made  the  point  of  dispute  by  unbelievers  ;  immediately  Christ's 
life,  Christ's  words,  Christ's  character,  His  nature,  His  person.  His 
powers,  these  as  constituting  the  very  core  and  life  of  Christianity, 
were  made  the  subject  of   a   minute  and    careful    exammation    by 


i8 

New  Testament  exegesis.  As  a  consequence,  the  stream  which 
began  in  Apologetics  has  overflowed  and  fertilized  every  other 
field.  The  Christological  idea  has  grown  to  si^ch  proportions  that  the 
Church  may  well  think  she  never  knew  Christ  as  well  before  in  her 
history. 

III.  But  we  must  close  with  a  few  words  on  the  last,  the  largest  and 
most  important  field  where  the  results  of  our  work  are  to  be  used  — 
the  ordinary  duties  of  the  ministry.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the 
need  of  practicality  in  study.  We  have  said  that  the  student  must 
meet  the  practical  man  on  his  own  ground.  Let  us  now  insist  on  it 
that  there  he  must  press  him  to  accept  t^ie  results  of  study.  Too 
often  the  temptation  comes  nowadays  to  look  upon  study  in  general 
as  secondary  to  work.  However  this  temptation  may  be  met  by  other 
study,  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  must  face  it  with  a  determined  and 
unyielding  front.  We  do  not  forget  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  de- 
mands on  the  minister's  time  and  energy  from  every  conceivable 
quarter  are  immense  and  persistent.  But  instead  of  compelling 
him  to  neglect  his  Greek  Testament,  the  fact  ought  to  lead  to  the 
employment  of  an  assistant,  to  the  division  of  the  parish,  to  any 
other  practical  plan  that  practical  men  can  devise,  rather  than  the 
unpractical  and  impracticable  scheme  of  preaching  and  pastoral  vis- 
itation without  constant  communion  with  the  very  source  and  ground- 
work of  his  office.  The  more  pressing  the  needs  of  the  field,  the 
more  fully  should  the  laborer  equip  himself  with  the  implements  of 
his  labor.  The  louder  the  demands  on  the  pastor  for  work,  the  bet- 
ter should  he  prepare  himself  for  it,  first  by  personal  communion  with 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest  and  then  by  a  careful  study  of  the  Word  of 
Truth,  the  more  skillfully  he  should  be  able  to  handle  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  more  familiar  he  should  be  with  all  their  riches  and  powers 
and  capacities. 

We  might  as  well  attempt  to  raise  roses  on  the  bush  which  has 
been  cut  off  from  its  roots,  as  try  to  enforce  the  doctrines,  practices, 
and  methods  of  the  Bible  without  a  thorough,  minute,  repeated,  and 
independent  reinforcement  from  its  store  of  facts.  Why  need  we 
point  at  this  time  to  history,  instructive  as  it  is  familiar  in  this  respect  ? 
Whenever  and  wherever  the  interpretation  of  the  Word  has  been  un- 
dertaken and  carried  on  sincerely  and  persistently,  the  consequence 
has  been  moral  and  religious  healthfulness  ;  wherever  and  whenever 
its  authority  has  been  disputed  or  ignored,  wherever  it  has  been  or  is 
carried  on  upon  a  defective  isagogical  and  exegetical  system,  the  re- 


19 

suit  is  moral  and  religious  laxitj-.  The  time  is  past  when  a  minister 
could  base  a  sermon  or  enforce  a  word  of  exhortation  on  a  misunder- 
stood and  misapplied  text  of  Scripture  without  being  detected  and 
despised  for  it ;  the  day  has  not  come,  will  never  come,  when  it  will 
be  acceptable  to  the  healthy  conscience  for  the  minister  to  prove  m 
the  first  half  of  his  sermon  that  the  words  of  his  text  are  not  true, 
and  then  proceed  to  show  the  lessons  to  be  drawn  from  them.  Jug- 
gling with  the  basis  of  religious  mstruction  cannot  be  tolerated  long, 
whether  it  be  the  result  of  ignorance  or  arrogance.  If  the  world  is 
to  be  won  to  Christ  it  must  be  through  His  Word,  and  the  better  His 
Word  is  known  and  understood  by  those  who  are  to  use  it  the  easier 
the  task  will  be  and  the  sooner  success  will  follow. 

So  then,  look  at  it  from  whatever  point  of  view  we  will,  the  age 
enters  into  our  work  as  a  giver  and  a  taker ;  let  us  see  to  it  that  it 
gives  us  nothing  but  elements  of  health  and  vigor,  and  that  it  takes 
the  light  and  life  which  will  keep  it  thoughtful  and  devout,  its  faith 
unshaken,  its  Christian  energy  unabated. 

And  to  this  end  may  we  always  devoutly  look  up  unto  Him  who 
hath  intrusted  us  with  His  own  living  oracles. 


Caylord  Bros. 

Makers 
Syracuse.  N.  Y. 

PAT.  JAN.  21,  1908 


BS476  .Z55 

The  relations  of  New  Testament  study  to 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00050  6891 


